Android has always been more problematic because of the platform's fragmentations issues. It's getting better but there is still a lot of QA that goes into testing on the Android platform. We work with over 60 devices when we test app on Android versus several devices on iOS.

No, not anytime soon. As the market eventually shifts to more wearables, then you'll see a decline in the overall smart phone sales / iphone based mproduct. We're still a few years away from that happening.

One of the more immediate concerns is supporting the new screen sizes. Going back and remaking assets can be a pain sometimes. App compatbility should be fine with iOS8 as we've been running it on our devices sine the Spring.

Apple's long time habits of charging outragious prices for commodity items such as memory and add-on's along with game playing in artificially outdating accessories such as cables and then charging 20 to 20 time the manufacturing costs will someday catch up with them, probably sooner than later. It is not debatable that they are enormiously profitable, it is tjust the way they do it that turns people off.

Ya Apple is perceived as being less Evil for now (though some Android users will always see Apple as Evil). That can certainly change with any privacy TOS changes of course. Those types of issues typically set people off.

Thanks, Jordan. I could see people leaving Google/Samsung just to get away from them...do you think Apple could play off of being "less evil" than Samsung and easier to control your content from getting out to the larger world. Meaning for people seeking more privacy, does Apple provide any measures that might be a selling point?

I think the real question, then, is about strategy. Is it safe to assume that there will always be early adopters and tech savvy, status conscious folks who want an iPhone when there are cheaper, perhaps technically better, devices out there?

Tim, maybe you can expand a bit on what you see as Apple's roadmap for health? I'm curious about the hardware expected in 6 and what else needs to be added/taken away for the company to succeed in this market.

Yes Apple does have a very large fanbase that will continue to buy into their platforms. With Apple's push into "Continuity" , they're trying to provide natural crossovers from platform to platform. Start something on one screen and easily jump to another. They're thinking abour practical features that consumers will use on a daily basis.

Apple tries to introduce new ways on how to utilize their platform, which then developers can take advantage of. Their eco-system will continue to grow as long as Apple provides the infastructure and tools sets for developers to innovate.

Yes, macinlew, Apple does need the larger screen sizes to stay relevant, but I wonder if they are going to keep selling the small screens too--some people like a phone that easily fits in their pocket!

The price of an iPhone puts it out of reach for many (in India, China, Latin America...). Microsoft will sell its Lumia phones for around $160 and Firefox is discussing a $25 phone. Where does Apple fit in in a growing market where price matters?

So will the competition come down to the ecosystem and what ecosytem customers buy into, along with what screen size works best for each person? Will Apple have an eco system that beat out the Google/Samsung industrial complex? Maybe not...But that doesn't matter as long as Apple just builds its own converts and keeps them happy. This means app developers will make the difference eventually. Right, Jordan?

As long time and almost exclusive Apple customer, I've recently switched from an iPad to the Surface Pro 3 and I love it! I think Tim Cooks recent comment that it's a bump and will improve is worth discussing why he thinks that.

That depends on the app that's running. The most obvious type of app that would gain a performance bump would be games. We build a number of games for iOS and Android. The biggest problem is optimizing performance with the current amount of memory. We do our best to patch for memory leaks but additional ram will certainly help. We are already pushing the limits of the device.

Since Apple introduced 64-bit processor architecture, developers haven't been able to really take advantage of it. The processor is meant to help support larger amounts of memory, so right now it's under utilized with the limited current memory on the device. It's expected with the new iPhone 6, that it will bump up memory which will help more demand apps run better on the device.

In previous interviews with EE Times, Jordan said that the switch to the A8 processor will give the iPhone 6 a 30 to 50 percent speed bump, and that internal memory also increase to 2 Gbytes. What sort of advantage will this give over competing handsets, if any?

And Jordan Edelson - founder and CEO of New York City's Appetizer Mobile, one of the top 10 mobile app developers. Appetizer Mobile develops apps for others who put their names on them and has been working to update its library of more than 150 client apps for iOS-8.

Our live chat about iPhone6 will begin in 5 minutes. Join us as we talk with industry analysts and a mobile app developer about iPhone's relevancy in the wake of cheaper, possiblly more versatile phones.

In conjunction with unveiling of EE Times’ Silicon 60 list, journalist & Silicon 60 researcher Peter Clarke hosts a conversation on startups in the electronics industry. One of Silicon Valley's great contributions to the world has been the demonstration of how the application of entrepreneurship and venture capital to electronics and semiconductor hardware can create wealth with developments in semiconductors, displays, design automation, MEMS and across the breadth of hardware developments. But in recent years concerns have been raised that traditional venture capital has turned its back on hardware-related startups in favor of software and Internet applications and services. Panelists from incubators join Peter Clarke in debate.